PSIII – PIP - Cheetham 1

What Does Environmental Stewardship Mean to Me?:

A Module to Introduce Interdisciplinary Learning Across Arts-Centred Learning
English Language Arts 10-2, and Environmental Stewardship 1010 (CTS)

J. Cheetham - Professional Inquiry Project (PSIII)

Subject: ELA 10-2 ACL / ENS 1010

Unit/Topic: developing self-knowledge through personal writing, research, and

reflection, and defining environmental stewardship in a relevant and meaningful
way.

Unit Duration: 2.5 - 3 weeks instructional / student work time (approximate)

1. Unit Overview –

Question: What does environmental stewardship mean to me?

In this interdisciplinary unit module, English Language Arts (ELA) 10-2 students within
the Arts-Centred Learning (ACL) program at James Fowler High School will develop and
practice appropriate and specific ELA skills and processes to increase their self-
knowledge and reflective capacity, while also working towards the first general learning
outcome in Environmental Stewardship 1010, and defining environmental stewardship in
a well-informed, personal, relevant, and meaningful way.

2. Lessons and included/assessed learning outcomes:

1. A. Environmentalism in Song: annotation/appreciation of song lyrics that

exhibit an environmental message (Unit “hook” and introduction) - 1 class
period

B. Writing personal journal entries (reflective responses) to prompt

questions – 1 class period

 ELA 10-2 GLO: 2.1 – construct meaning from text and context:
 2.1.2 understand and interpret content
 2.2.2 relate elements, devices, and techniques to created effects
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2. A. My place and role in the environment – developed/refined personal
descriptive writing with unique voice – 1-2 class periods

B. I’ll explore my ecological identity and worldview – ecological footprint

analysis / reflective journal writing / personal worldview analysis response to
three proposed categories, and reflective reasoned judgement in journal
entry. – 1-2 class periods

 ELA10-2 GLO: 1.1 Discover possibilities

 1.1.1Form tentative understandings, interpretations, and positions.
 2.1 Construct meaning from text and context
 2.1.2 understand and interpret content
 2.1.3 engage prior knowledge
 GLO: 4.1 develop and present a variety of print and non-print texts
 4.1.2 consider and address form, structure, and medium
 4.1.3 develop content

 ENS1010 1.2 analyze personal experiences and interests in environmental

stewardship
 4.1 demonstrate basic competencies to:
 4.1.1 communicate

3. Defining Environmental Stewardship – research using digital sources and

presentation of findings (How do different institutions define (enact)
environmental stewardship?) – 2-3 class periods

 ELA 10-2 GLO: 3.2 follow a plan of inquiry

 3.2.1 select, record, and organize information
 3.2.3 form generalizations and conclusions
 3.2.4 review inquiry or research process and findings
 ENS1010 1.1 define environmental stewardship based on research and legislation
 4.1 demonstrate basic competencies to:
 4.1.1 communicate
 4.1.2 manage information
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4. What Does Environmental Stewardship Mean to Me? – artistic
representation development, rationale writing, and presentation for specific
audience – 3-4 class periods

ELA 10-2 ACL GLO: 1.1 Discover possibilities

 1.1.1 Form tentative understandings, interpretations, and positions
GLO: 4.1 Develop and present a variety of print and non-print texts
 4.1.1 assess text creation context
 4.1.3 develop content
 4.1.4 use production, publication, and presentation strategies and technologies
consistent with context

 ENS 1010 – 1.3 create a definition based on personal experience and relationship
with the natural and built environment.
 5.1 complete/update a personal inventory eg. interests, values, beliefs, resources,
prior learning and experiences

3. SEE-I of Key Concept for Unit

State:
Environmental stewardship refers to responsible use and protection of the
natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices. A “land
ethic” about "dealing with [humans’] relation to land and to the animals and plants
which grow upon it."

Elaborate:
Related to the concept of sustainability: the process of maintaining change in a
balanced fashion, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of
investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional
change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet
human needs and aspirations.

Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the environment and ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
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Exemplify:
Examples of ways school-age students may most easily act towards
sustainability with a focus on environmental stewardship include:
 Adjusting their food choices to reducing the carbon footprint involved in
their food production (economics permitting)
 Composting natural waste
 Cutting down on personal use of single-use plastics
 Volunteering for environmental causes
Illustrate:

4. Culminating Task Description

Students will plan and create an artistic representation of what environmental

stewardship means to them personally, and write an accompanying rationale
detailing their ideas, process, and artistic/representational choices. These
projects will be displayed for other ACL students and the school community in an
open gallery we will create within the ACL space.

8. Rationale:

James Fowler High School’s stated school plan and pedagogical culture in general
both highly stress and prioritize the importance of successful core course completion and
eventual high-school graduation for every student. There are many students at Fowler
who struggle to earn the required credits to graduate.

I have observed and discussed a common interest in the outdoors among the likely
majority of ACL students I’ve taught and gotten to know at Fowler. For instance, when
prompted in an introductory “getting to know you” assignment, many students described
specific natural landscapes as the places they feel most “at home” and at peace. Many
also identified pollution, global warming, and damage to the environment as the most
pressing issue their generation faces.

Also, the ACL ELA -2 stream taught by Chloe Rickards prioritizes students’
development of self-knowledge and empathy over all three courses. I believe that the
inclusion of ENS 1010 outcomes will complement and support this type of development
for students.
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(Rationale continued)
This unit module is intended to involve students’ interests, and provide a relevant and
meaningful opportunity for each student to work towards earning an extra credit on their
transcripts by fulfilling the outcomes from the introductory Environmental Stewardship
CTS module: ENS 1010. I believe that approaching the ENS material in combination
with ELA 10-2 outcomes, and the unique context of the ACL program will help facilitate
students’ engagement, and help them form complimentary and robust understandings and
skills within each discipline. It may also help encourage their participation in other CTS
courses, and raise their awareness of possible career paths. Fowler is well set to provide
these opportunities for students.

This is an introductory module that thoroughly covers ENS 1010 GLO 1. In order to
earn their extra credit, students would have to continue to develop their understandings of
environmental stewardship within the ENS1010 learning outcomes. This module is
intended as trial-of-concept, and as a possible exemplar or jumping-off-point for future
modules that continue within this particular interdisciplinary context. In future modules,
students would continue to refine their personal definition of environmental stewardship
by developing an understanding of the social, economic, and political significance of
environmental stewardship, along with its historical context. I believe this could be done
by integrating ENS1010 outcomes throughout the semester-long 10-2 course, and
accessing them through the study of literary anchor texts, like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet
series, or Ben Mikelsen’s Touching Spirit Bear. I also believe these future modules would
provide an opportunity to incorporate more Indigenous texts, voices, and ways of
knowing.